The Red Turtle (La tortue rouge)
(2017 Feature Film)

Through the story of a man shipwrecked on a tropical island inhabited by turtles, crabs and birds, the dialogue-less film recounts the milestones in the life of a human being.

Studio Ghibli’s first international co-production is a castaway fable that combines beauty, mystery, drama, and heartbreak – with not a word spoken. It begins in the middle of a storm. Grey waves and raindrops engulf the screen. In the corner, a tiny head surfaces and then sinks. The nameless man is washed up on a beach with bits of his broken boat. A crab crawls up his leg. When he goes to explore, the view pulls right back so all we see is a remote island while his cries ring out. His only company are some crabs. Several times he tries to escape with a makeshift bamboo raft, but each time a mysterious force in the water breaks up his boat. Eventually he discovers his secretive aggressor: the titular red turtle.

Michael Dudok de Wit (1953, Netherlands) is an animator, director, and illustrator. In 1978, he graduated from the West Surrey College of Art with his first film The Interview followed by The Monk and the Fish (1994), which was made in France with the studio Folimage. This film was nominated for an Oscar and has won numerous prizes including a César Award for Best Short Film and the Cartoon d'Or. His short film Father and Daughter (2000) won an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, the Grand Prix at Annecy, and dozens of other major awards. This was followed by The Aroma of Tea (2006), an experimental film painted entirely with tea. De Wit also writes and illustrates children's picture books and teaches animation at art colleges and universities in England and abroad.